Гвинея шығанағындағы Биафра шығанағы

Bight in the Gulf of Guinea

The Bight of Biafra, also known as the Bight of Bonny, is a bight off the west central African coast, in the easternmost part of the Gulf of Guinea.

The Bight of Bonny, between Cape Formosa and Cape Lopez, is the most eastern part of the Gulf of Guinea; it contains the islands Bioko [Equatorial Guinea], São Tomé and Príncipe. The name Biafra – as indicating the country – fell into disuse in the later part of the 19th century

A 1710 map indicates that the region known as "Biafar" was located in present day Cameroon. The Bight of Bonny extends east from the River Delta of the Niger in the north until it reaches Cape Lopez in Gabon. Besides the Niger River, other rivers reaching the bay are the Cross River, Calabar River, Ndian, Wouri, Sanaga, Nyong River, Ntem, Mbia, Mbini, Muni and Komo River. The main islands in the Bay are Bioko and Príncipe; other important islands are Ilhéu Bom Bom, Ilhéu Caroço, Elobey Grande and Elobey Chico. Countries located at the Bight of Biafra are Cameroon, the eastern region of Nigeria, Equatorial Guinea (Bioko Island and Rio Muni), and Gabon

The Bight of Biafra accounted for an estimated 10.7% of all enslaved people that were transported to the Americas between 1519 1700. Between 1701 1800, it accounted for an estimated 14.97%. Slaves purchased from the markets on the Bight of Biafra included Bamileke, Efik/Ibibio, Igbo, Tikar, Bakossi, Fang, Massa, Bubi and many more. Normally, enslaved people were cheaper when bought in Cameroon because they preferred to die rather than accept slavery. By the middle of the eighteenth century, Bonny had emerged as the major slave trading port on the Bight of Biafra outpacing the earlier dominant slave ports at Elem Kalabari (also known then as New Calabar) and Old Calabar. These 3 ports together accounted for over 90% of the slave trade emanating from the Bight of Biafra.